The Separation of Earth’s Core and Mantle

1/31/2018 12:00:00 AM

Earth is the third planet from the Sun and the only object in the Universe known to possess harbor life. Earth's interior remains active with a solid iron inner core.

In a recent research, a partition between Earth’s core and mantle due to high pressure and temperature has been observed. Earth has formed from the accretion of matter surrounding the Sun. With time the planet has grown to such a size that denser iron metal sank inward, to form the beginnings of the Earth's core, leaving the silicate-rich mantle floating above it. A team of Carnegie and Smithsonian scientists found that the mantle was never mixed completely when the core was extracted from it. This core formation happened in the immediate wake of large impacts from other previous objects in the Solar System. Due to which our Earth experienced worse impact. However, it was believed always that these had completely stirred the mantle, mixing all of its components into a uniform state. These dense pockets of the mantle are difficult to be back in position. It is even more surprising to know that there are dense regions of mantle, resting just above the core and is called ultralow velocity zones and large low shear velocity provinces. The scientists found that if the nascent core is separated from the deepest regions of the mantle then these mantle pockets would have the unique tungsten and xenon isotopic signatures, provided these pockets are still unmixed with the rest of the mantle.